Menzies House

Best Of The Web

Tim Andrews brings back his roundup of the weird and wacky news from around the world in Best Of The Web: 

Amazon promises book delivering drones, telemarketers are no long from india, they're now robots - denying they're robots!  But the US Government still uses floppy disks... 

World's top chef's reveal the most overrated and underrated meats

The rich and proud history of 'lowbrow conservatism' 

 A 10 year old boy suspended from school for violating the "zero tolerance" policy by shooting an imaginary arrow

U.S. Cities With Travel Warnings: Notice A Pattern?

A few days ago, the Washington Post listed 16 U.S. cities that foreign governments issue travel warnings about due to their high levels of crime.

With policing a responsibility of local government in the United States, I decided to look up the mayors of these cities. 

Do you notice a pattern?

Boston: Thomas Merino (Democrat)

New York: Michael Bloomberg (Independent), Mayor Elect Bil de Blasio (Democrat)

Washington DC: Vincent Gray (Democrat)

Baltimore: Stephanie Rawlings-Blake (Democrat)

Richmond: Dwight Clinton Jones (Democrat)

Pittsburgh: Luke Ravenstahl (Democrat) Mayor Elect Bill Peduto (Democrat)

Cleveland: Frank G Jackson (Democrat)

Detroit: Davd Bing (Democrat), Mayor-Elect Mike Duggan (Democrat)

Chicago: Rahm Emmanual (Democrat)

St Louis: Francis S Slay (Democrat)

Houston: Annise Parker (Democrat)

Atlanta: Kasim Reed (Democrat)

New Orleans: Mitch Landrieu (Democrat)

Miami: Tomas Regaldo (Republican)  

Los Angeles: Eric Garcetti (Democrat) 

El Paso : John Cook (Democrat)

Tim Andrews is Executive Director of the Australian Taxpayers' Alliance & Publisher of Menzies House.

Best Of The Web Returns!

In the return of one of our most popular columns, Tim Andrews brings back his roundup of the weird and wacky news from around the world in Best Of The Web: 

A new "reverse microwave" can chill drinks in under 45 seconds! 

Want to prepare for the Zombie Apololypse in style? Then this is the house for you! 

How Famous 20th Century Headlines would read if they were published today. 

Leftists at the University of Georgia protest excellence and success. Really. 

You can now buy shares in professional atheletes. 

Humour: You've all seen clips of TED talks, here's a DED talk - a motivational speech for zombies! 

A disabled girl in the United Kingdom wants to work - but the government tells her to stay on welfare

Football coach in the US accused of "bullying" because his team is so successful

Heston would be proud: Want to poach some salmon? Or pears? Or make some Bulgoki? Then try using your dishwasher (just don't try shellfish, rice, or eggs!)

And finally, here 218 reasons why even the left should not support President Obama

EDITORIAL: This Government Has Got To Go

Menzies House Publisher Tim Andrews argues that this Saturday, Kevin Rudd has got to go: 

Every day this week I’ve been getting the same sort of emails: “Saturday won’t matter, they’re all the same, nothing will change, why should I bother”.

This argument is flat out wrong and you should reject it for one simple reason:

The current Federal Government has advanced the greatest assault on individual freedoms and sound economic management we have seen in over three decades.

As you would be well aware, I have frequently criticised Tony Abbot some of his plans, such as PPL and his desire to keep the Renewable Energy Target. I hold grave concerns about his ability to keep some big government influences in check, and his economic plans leave much to be desired. But any criticism I have of the opposition is dwarfed by the gigantic catastrophe that the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd government has proven to be.

Irrespective of what you think about Tony Abbott, there can be no doubt about one thing: This government has got to go.

Here’s why:

Tony Needs To Dump Paid Parental Leave

As you may have read in today’s papers, conservative Liberal backbenchers have just launched a campaign to dump the expensive far left paid-parental leave policy.

They are absolutely right. And they need our support.

It is no secret who I want to win the next election:  but when it comes to Paid Parental Leave, Tony has been listening to too many left wing advisors and ABC Commentators. This policy is flat out wrong.

I know I won’t be popular for saying this, but this is a scheme that will increase taxes, increase our debt, and hurt every Aussie family. We just can’t afford another big-spending initiative like this. To spend another $3 billion every year to pay $150,000 a year in welfare to wealthy mothers is just wrong.

Our corporate tax rate is one of the highest in the world. It’s the reason why businesses are fleeing offshore, and we are losing jobs. As the rest of the world is cutting their corporate tax rate, it is madness for us to increase ours.

Tony needs to dump this policy now – before it is too late.

We have a chance to scrap this policy – if we act fast.

We have created an online portal for our supporters to contact Coalition MP’s to DUMP this policy, 

Click HERE to tell Coalition MP’s that this policy is bad economics, bad social policy – and will lose them votes.

The Australian election will come down to who are the better economic managers. By persisting with this policy that’s to the left of the Australian Greens,  the Opposition is putting their claim in danger. Not a single person will vote for the Opposition because of it – and many will turn away.

I strongly urge you to contact Coalition MPs today.

Tim Andrews

Our "Research Dollars" hard at work

Tim Andrews looks at taxpayer For What Artists Think of the NBN, Medieval Sexism Necessitating Christ Was A Man, The Cultural Impact of Iranian Pop Singers And More: 

Following up from my previous post about taxpayer funded radical leftist propaganda masquerading as “research” grants,  I decided to have a look at some of the other grants that were made in 2012 by the Australian Research Council and also in the Discover Category (for younger researchers)

This has got to be my favourite:

The cultural economy of Australian artist-run initiatives which develop an  understanding of a diverse range of artists’ practices, including in relation to the National Broadband Network which  will contribute to policy development for a more vibrant Australian arts landscape ($320,906.00).

Because, that’s right, the opinion of artists in relation to the NBN, is worth of funding.

Although this one comes a very close second:

Sexing scholasticism: gender in medieval thought 1150-1520. This is about… wait for it … “medieval theological debates about why it was necessary that Christ was born as a man” which grants “access to ideas about  masculinity and femininity held by the elite ruling cultures of western Europe” ($357,630.00)

Gender seems a bit of a theme:

How Gender Shapes The World: A Linguistic Perspective. This project will seek to understand and explain gender roles in Australian society, and in nearby nations. Emphasis is placed on training researchers with an immigrant or minority background, working towards the empowerment of women researchers. This will enhance our nation’s capacity to interpret and manage gender roles in multicultural contexts. TOTAL COST: $2,416,141.00

Other ones I noted included:

Taxpayer Funded Political Activism

I have an article in this month's edition of the award-winning IPA Review on taxpayer funded political activism:

Unintentional self-parody has long being a forte of governments around the world.

Yet a movement in recent years to create multi-layered government and quasi-governmental agencies, each existing simply to lobby each other to in turn lobby other agencies has exceeded anything Kafka could have dreamt of. We have seen the emergence of a new industry in Australia, where an entire class of government-funded ‘non-government' organisations has arisen to lobby government agencies who are created for the express purpose of lobbying another government department.....

The influx of taxpayer dollars has resulted in ‘non-government' actors becoming so corrupted and intertwined with politics as to cease to be ‘non-government', while retaining the benefits of non-partisanship in the public eye. The use by the executive of taxpayer dollars to alter public opinion and pressure the legislature is more than contrary to every tenet of the separation of powers and good governance, not to mention a flagrant misappropriation of public funds. Yet, with both sides of politics engaging in such practices, scarcely a word is said.

The Environmental Movement's Attack On Food Production

Tim Andrews writes in Online Opinion on the modern environmental movements' attack on food production and science: 

Today marks the 31^st International Food Day, dedicated to raising awareness of the problems facing global food supply. The importance of food security cannot be overestimated: it is predicted that by 2050, the global demand for food will increase by a staggering 70%. But amidst the usual calls for more investment and innovation, the most serious threat to food production has been ignored: environmental groups and their political supporters.

The challenge to agricultural productivity in Australia from green groups is ubiquitous. Green tape has succeeded in removing entire productive fishing zones from use, despite the fact that no marine species in Australian waters is threatened with extinction from overfishing. Legislation to protect "native vegetation" has allowed governments to appropriate land without compensation, and, as a result, vast tracts of highly fertile farmland are now an effective wasteland.

, The most extreme – and senseless – case of the anti-production mindset of the Australian "environmental" movement is the baseless and unscientific attack on enriched food by Greenpeace, which culminated in the criminal destruction of a CSIRO trial wheat crop in 2011.

This campaign against scientifically enriched food truly is bizarre. According to experts like World Food Prize winner Rajesh Kumar, we are currently on the verge of another international agricultural revolutionthat could be as momentous as the "Green Revolution" of the mid 20^th century. Spearheaded by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Norman Borlaug, the Green Revolution saved over a billion people from starvation through scientific advancements, including the enhancement of crop yields, the creation of disease-resistant strains, and improved cultivation methods. It enabled higher production at lower costs with less land and fewer pesticides used. These are precisely the sorts of advances which we are on the cusp of today – yet are under attack by organizations like Greenpeace.

Despite their opposition to life-saving scientific advances, these green special interest groups continue to be granted "deductible gift recipient" status as "charities" in Australia, even though Canada and New Zealand recently stripped Greenpeace of this status.

Click here to keep reading at Online Opinion. 

Tim Andrews is the Executive Director of the Australian Taxpayers' Alliance, which recently launched a campaign website on the environmental movement, www.activistethics.com.au/